In the depths of underwater canyons off the Argentine coast, where darkness and pressure seem unfit for life, scientists have identified as many as 57 new marine species. Among them is an unusual sea cucumber, nicknamed the “Loki of sea cucumbers” for its horned protrusions reminiscent of the mythical god. This discovery was the result of two weeks of intensive work by taxonomists in Buenos Aires, where they analyzed samples collected back in 2025.
An expedition by the Schmidt Institute aboard the vessel Falkor (too) with the SuBastian vehicle made it possible to study the Mar del Plata canyon in detail for the first time. There, at great depths, live copepods, echinoderms, corals and other creatures, many of which had previously remained unknown to science. Five new genera have already been described, and this is only the beginning: the samples revealed 20 new species of copepods, 22 echinoderms and 14 cnidarians.
Such finds show how little we know about the deep-sea ecosystems of the South Atlantic. These canyons act as oases, where currents bring nutrients, sustaining complex food chains. The discovery highlights the vulnerability of these places to possible industrial development of the seabed.
International cooperation played a key role here: specialists from Latin America and Europe together applied modern methods — from genetic barcoding to high-precision imaging. This accelerated the description of species and helped prepare young researchers. The data were immediately entered into the open Ocean Census NOVA platform so that everyone could use them.
Discoveries like these remind us that the ocean is not merely a resource but a living system, where each new species adds a stroke to the picture of interconnections. Protecting such zones requires precise knowledge, not assumptions, and that is precisely why expeditions and workshops on species description remain a priority.
